Tag: andy ant

About two hours from my house there are some really big mountains. Every summer Dad and his friends like to spend a day in the mountains driving the old four-wheel jeep roads. Mom has said for years I was too young to go. But this year Dad said it was time for me to experience some real mountain adventures. Mom was not happy about this but I was really excited!

I told Andy about this trip. He immediately wanted to go and asked his dad if he could go too—even before I asked him. Well, his dad said yes—if he could go along. This is the first-time Andy’s dad decided to take off a day of work and go with us on an adventure.

Last Saturday Dwayne, Dad and I took off early for the mountains in Dad’s friend’s jeep—with Andy and his dad riding on the brim of my hat so that they could see everything really well. After two hours, we began climbing up the really steep mountains. The road was more like a trail than a real road. We seemed to climbing almost straight up! I had to hold on for dear life—and hoped that Andy and his dad were holding on to my hat brim as well. It was hard to talk to then since they were on top of me. I had never been in such a dangerous place. There were huge boulders right in the road and we slowly had to climb over each one. We also had to go through a rushing stream and the water about covered our big tires. I was sure glad my Dad knew what he was doing.

When we got to the top of the mountain we found a sunny place near a little lake to have lunch. I took off my hat and put it on a big rock. I made sure that Andy and his Dad had some choice crumbs for their lunch. Dad said Dwayne and I could even go for a swim in the lake. What a great idea. We stripped down and I dove in. The water was freezing cold! Dad laughed until he was crying. Needless to say, we did not swim long!

We eventually packed up all of our stuff to leave and begin heading back down the mountain. After an hour of difficult down-hill traveling I suddenly realized I had left my hat on that big rock by the lake. I told Dad that I forgot my hat and really needed it. Dad said we could not go back for the hat now because we had to get home before dark ….

You can finish this adventure by answering these questions:

What did Andy and his dad do during the lunch stop near the lake?

Where are Andy and his dad now?

How is Joey going to get his hat back?

How will Andy and his dad get home?

What lessons do you think Andy, his dad and Joey learned on this adventure?

Every Sunday my family gets ready and goes to Promise Church together. Sometimes I don’t want to go but Mom and Dad say this is a priority. I actually like going because I attend Adventureland with a lot of my friends. We sing, have a lesson based on a Bible story, talk about what we can learn from the story, have a snack and go out to play. My sister, Becky, goes to her own class and Mom, Dad and my brother, Dwayne, go with their friends.

Last Sunday I asked Andy to come along so he could get an idea of what I do every Sunday. This time his mom said yes without Parker or Uncle Andrew coming along. I guess she felt attending church would be a safe place. Andy promised to stay in my shirt pocket. He could peek out and still not be noticed.

My friends and I were having a chat and a snack. Suddenly my friend, Cindy, came up behind me and jerked my chair out from under me. She was just trying to be funny, but I ended up on the floor. All the kids at my table had a good laugh. I laughed too but this was not really funny.

I looked down to my pocket to see if Andy was OK. He was gone! He never leaves my pocket when he is in new places. I had to find Andy without the other kids knowing I was looking for an ant….

Finish this story by answering the following questions:

Where do you think Andy was just before Joey ended up on the floor?

If you were Joey, what would you do to find Andy?

Where did Joey find Andy?

What lesson did Joey and Andy learn from this experience at Adventureland?

Last weekend Andy got permission from his Mom and Dad to go with me to my grandpa’s farm–if Uncle Andrew came along. Uncle Andrew is a really cool retired ant. He likes unexpected adventures and is always easy to talk to. I have been wanting Andy to go with me for weeks and was glad Uncle Andrew could come with us.

When we got to the farm I told dad I wanted to go see grandpa’s chickens behind the big old barn. Dad said ok but to stay out of the barn. Andy and Uncle Andrew, as usual, were in my shirt pocket watching my every step. As we got close to the old barn I remembered what fun I had in there with my cousins that last time we visited. I decided to show Andy and Uncle Andrew this spooky old place. I opened the big old barn door and stepped in. It was really dark and dusty inside. It was eerie and really scary. Andy and Uncle Andrew were amazed at the size of this old place. I headed toward the hay loft so I could show Andy and Uncle Andrew where I jumped into the hay stack.

Suddenly a big wind gust came through the barn and the big door slammed shut behind me. The noise of the door slamming about scared me to death. I could not see a thing because I was now in total darkness. It was totally silent now. Andy and Uncle Andrew never said a word. I don’t think I have ever been more afraid. Eventually I found my way to the door. As I opened the door I looked down to see how Andy and Uncle Andrew were doing. But they were gone! I looked in my pocket and all around my shirt—but they had disappeared….

Sam is my neighborhood friend. He lives at the far end of my block. Sam is a year ahead of me in school but we really have good times together. Sam has missed a whole week of school. This worries me. I asked Dad if he knew where Sam might be. He said I should walk over to his house and ask about him. Good friends care for each other.

I normally ride my bike everywhere but my bike has a flat tire. I asked Andy to go with me so I would have so company as I walked to Sam’s house. Andy was glad to get out of my yard and jumped on my shoe. I told him I was worried about Sam. Andy listened and asked a few questions. As we got to Sam’s house I saw his Mom pull in the driveway. I asked her where Sam was and if he was OK. Her answer was shocking. I actually felt sick!

She told me Sam became very sick last Monday. He got so bad that Dr. Jones admitted him to the hospital. This is serious! He has been there six days and no one can figure out what’s wrong with Sam. Whatever it is, it is really serious. I asked if my Dad could take me to see him. The answer was simply, “Not now. He is too sick to see anyone.”

Finish this story by using the following question:

What do you think Andy’s advice is to Joey about Sam?

What do you think Joey can do?

What would you do if you had a close friend that ended up in the hospital?

What do you think Joey and Andy will do when they get back to Joey’s house?

Before Joey’s dad left for work, he reminded Joey to be sure and pull all the weeds in the flowerbed along the driveway and right next to Mr. Davis’s house. Dad promised Joey that if he did a good job pulling the weeds, they’d go watch the local baseball team’s game at the big city ball field that evening.

This job was going to take a couple of hours in the hot sun. To help make the time go faster, Joey decided to ask Andy to help him in the flowerbed. After all, ants know what goes on under the ground. Many of the underground ant trails pass right by the weed roots. At least he would have someone to talk to while he pulled the weeds.

Andy liked weeds because they gave his family extra shade on the hot summer days, but he agreed to spend a few hours with Joey to keep him company—and Joey promised to take Andy to the baseball game later that evening if he would help. As Joey worked, Andy found other neighborhood ant friends in the flowerbed and introduced them to Joey. That morning Joey also met Barney Bee, Sam Snail, and William Worm. It seemed everyone was having a great time in the flowerbed that morning.

But then Joey’s older brother, Dwayne, came out of the garage. He had an insect sprayer with him. He told Joey that Mom wanted him to spray the flowerbeds and rose bushes to get rid of those pesky ants and then spread snail bate throughout the flowers to get rid of the snails.

What do you think Joey said to Dwayne?

How do you think Dwayne responded to Joey?

Did the ants and other neighborhood friends have time to get away before the spraying began?